Motivational orientations and psychiatric stigma: Social motives influence how causal explanations relate to stigmatizing attitudes

a r t i c l e i n f o It has been hoped that disseminating biological and genetic (biogenetic) explanations for mental disorders would reduce the tendency to stigmatize affected people. However, biogenetic explanations convey both stigmatizing and destigmatizing meanings (reducing blame but inducing perceived dangerousness and pessimism). This ambiguity may allow motivational factors to influence how individuals make sense of biogenetic explanations. In this research, we aimed: (1) to shed light on the motives that underpin stigmatizing attitudes, and (2) to investigate if these motives also predict how people interpret biogenetic explanations. In Study 1 (N = 177), we found that motivations to compete for group dominance (Social Dominance Orientation; SDO) and to maintain security and social cohesion (Right Wing Authoritarianism; RWA) were associated with stigmatizing attitudes toward individuals suffering from depression and schizophrenia. Further, biogenetic explanations had different implications for stigma as a function of RWA, predicting high stigma in high-RWA people and low stigma in low-RWA people. In Study 2 (N = 93), we found that the motives indexed by SDO and RWA predicted how people responded to a biogenetic explanation of schizophrenia, tending to reinforce stigmatizing attitudes. We discuss the implications of these findings for efforts to reduce stigma. People with mental disorders are subject to an intense stigma founded on negative stereotypes and myths. This pattern of rejecting and hostile attitudes and discriminatory behavior can have profoundly damaging effects on people who receive psychiatric diagnoses It has been hoped that educating the public about the biological and genetic (biogenetic) causes of mental disorders would reduce stigma (e.g., Corrigan et al., 2000). A large body of research has documented that biogenetic explanations have complex implications for people's attitudes: Individuals who hold or learn about biogenetic explanations for mental disorders are less likely to blame sufferers for their conditions, but also more likely to perceive them as dangerous and incurable Because biogenetic explanations convey both stigmatizing and destigmatizing meanings, different individuals may interpret these explanations in markedly different ways. Individuals who are motivated to stigmatize people with mental disorders may interpret biogenetic explanations for these conditions in ways that support their prejudice. The purpose of the present research is to investigate whether the same motives that underpin stigmatizing attitudes also influence people to interpret biogenetic explanations in ways that reinforce their negative views. If this is the case, it would highlight an important barrier to …